Tequila Chaser
by perfectlyrose
Summary: John wasn't planning on talking to anyone. He just wanted to get drunk and forget about his problems. He didn't count on meeting a blonde with the same goal. (Nine/Rose AU)
1. Chapter 1

A/N: This idea's been kicking around in my head for a while so I finally decided to write it. It's a drunken one night stand AU so if that's not your thing…be warned. Unbeta'd so all mistakes are mine. (Also if you're looking for actual smut, there are maybe like three lines of it here. I'm still figuring out how to write it so there's just a glimpse here) Anyways, carry on. There will be more to this soon.

EDIT/ I realized that since I copy and pasted this in at like 3 am and then published when I was half asleep at 11...I managed to leave off the ending of this chapter. Sorry about that!

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All John Smith wanted to do was get drunk and be as anonymous as his name. He was pretty sure the universe was out to get him and for just one night he was going to tell it to go fuck itself and ignore the failures and responsibilities and worries that weighed on him. He shrugged on his leather jacket and headed out into the crisp fall night.

The pub down the block from his flat was usually a fairly quiet place but John had not accounted for it being a Friday night. The place was filled with boisterous people celebrating the end of another week and the beginning of a weekend. John found a spot near the end of the bar and settled down on the stool and ordered up a double shot of whiskey. The faster he got drunk, the faster he could leave.

He was two drinks in when someone slid onto the single stool between him and the wall. John didn't bother looking up, not wanting to give whoever it was any indication that he was in the mood for a chat.

"Two shots of tequila, please." The, apparently female, stranger's voice was somehow simultaneously determined and despondent and John felt his curiosity getting the better of him.

He glanced up from the glass in his hands in time to see the blonde on his right take her second shot. She grimaced and shook her head before signaling for two more. Since the barkeep was heading their way anyways, John held up a finger to indicate he was ready for a new one as well.

"Rough day?" The words escaped his mouth as soon as the bartender walked away and he immediately wanted to kick himself. He didn't want to talk to anyone but apparently his mouth was operating independently of his brain.

He blamed the whiskey.

"Shitty year," she replied before knocking back another shot. "You?" Her voice was a little strangled as the burn of the tequila made itself known.

"Shitty life, me," John answered honestly.

"Oh you're one of those blokes," she said, turning to face him, "always having to one-up everything."

John spluttered out something in protest. He didn't know exactly what he said because he was too busy drinking in his first full view of the stranger next to him. She looked to be in her early twenties and the brown eyes staring up at him were the same color as the drink in his hand. Her mouth might have been a touch too wide for her face but nothing detracted from the fact that she was stunning.

He took a long sip of his whiskey. "You here to get drunk, too?"

"Yeah. And damn if I'm not already feeling those shots." Her lips quirked up in a quick smile before she suddenly put her head down on the bar.

John reached out and moved her remaining shot away from the top of her head. "Alright there?"

"I will be once I can't feel anything," came the muffled reply. She turned her head so she could see him, "Why does it take so long to get past the hurting and to the numb part?"

"Don't know, love, but the way you're downing shots you should get there pretty soon."

"Good. Don't want to even think about why I'm here." She considered for a moment before adding.

"That's the point of getting drunk isn't it?"

"Yeah, I guess."

They both turned back to their drinks. John took a few long swallows of his whiskey, almost draining it, while the blonde toyed with the shotglass in front of her. Suddenly he saw her face harden out of the corner of his eye and she tipped the shot down her throat.

"So what do you do when you're not sitting at a pub drinking?" She asked after the bartender delivered new drinks.

His face darkened, a job gone wrong and a mistake blamed on him that wasn't actually his fault were two of the reasons that had driven him here tonight. "Bit of everything, really. Don't like being tied down to one thing. "You?"

"Currently unemployed as of today I guess. Shockingly not the main reason I'm drinkin'." Her words were starting to slur and John knew he wasn't far off from slurring himself. "Didn't even factor into the decision really. An' that should tell you exactly how awful today was. Just the cherry on top of the whole fucking terrible year."

"I decided today the universe was out to get me so…" John trailed off and shrugged. He was drunk but not drunk enough to go into the reasons why he'd come to that conclusion. "Here I am."

"We're quite the pair," she said laughing. "Drinking ourselves numb and talking around the reasons we're here."

John chuckled in response. "What else are you supposed to do when you're drinking with a stranger in a pub?"

Her whiskey eyes shot to him, locking with his blue ones. "You don't seem like a stranger, why is that?"

John suppressed a shiver. "Probably just the tequila talking."

It was really the only reasonable explanation. There was no way that she was interested in him at all. She was young and beautiful and would have no use for an old, broken ex-doctor with a list of issues as long as his arm.

She broke him out of his reverie by placing her hand on his knee. "Hey, the tequila might be helpin' things along but it's not conjurin' up this," she gestured between the two of them with her free hand, "connection."

"Imaginin' things you are," he said.

Her hand was off his knee in a flash and she couldn't hide the hurt on her face. Oh Christ, he hadn't meant it like that.

"Sorry, for bothering you while you're working on drinking," she said stiffly.

"'S not what I meant. I just don't expect anyone to like me much at all, much less gorgeous blonde strangers." He winced. He hadn't meant to say that last bit out loud.

"Well I didn't expect to meet a gorgeous bloke at the pub tonight," she shot back, tongue between her teeth as she smiled. And between that smile and the alcohol he might not be responsible for his actions for much longer. "Let's just enjoy tonight and distract each other from why we're here. Deal?"

"Deal." John agreed, grinning at her.

They kept drinking, a bit slower than earlier, for another hour and a half. The two of them covered every generic topic they could think of: politics (neither of them followed it), football (same as politics), best place to get chips (sparked a debate), Harry Potter books (brilliant), and how the couples who were always snogging in public were the worst. They never touched on anything personal and by last call they were laughing and her hand was resting on his upper thigh, occasionally stroking, and it was very distracting.

They paid their tabs and stumbled out into the cold air, leaning heavily on each other.

"Do ya live nearby?" He asked, blearily looking around for a cab.

"No, do you?"

"Yeah, just down the block." He barely thought about the offer before it was out of his mouth. Liquid courage and all that. "You can stay at my place, if you want."

"I want," she said, eyes dark as she looked up at him.

He couldn't pretend to hide the shiver this time. He grabbed her hand and started walking towards his building. He lived on the third floor and the elevator hadn't worked in a decade according to the landlord. In his drunken state the multiple flights of stairs were a daunting task but he was determined not to let on. His blonde friend was following behind him and it didn't help that he swore he could feel her eyes on his arse.

He fumbled with the key when they finally got to the door of his flat. He finally got it open and in a fit of gallantry gestured for her to enter first. John had barely gotten inside the door himself when she pounced on him.

He was pinned to the door and her lips were moving hungrily against his. Within a second he was answering in kind, opening his mouth and inviting her in. John's hands gripped at her hips, pulling her flush against him. Her hands were wandering; one was cupped around his ear, stroking, the other had found its way to his arse and was squeezing possessively. (He was gratified that he hadn't been imagining her fascination in the stairwell.)

Slowly, bouncing off walls and furniture and snogging protractedly at each stop, John led them towards his bedroom. Neither of them had said a word since entering the flat and he couldn't bring himself to care.

By the time they landed on his bed they were wearing significantly less clothing than when they'd begun. Her mouth was fused to his again and he let out a moan when her hand snuck beneath the waistband of his pants to palm him.

After that it was all a blur of skin on skin, mouths and hands exploring and the taste of tequila on her tongue mixing with their salty sweat. It all culminated in them collapsing in a tangled heap, completely sated and exhausted from sex and alcohol.

When John woke the next morning it was with a pounding headache and an overwhelming desire to never look at alcohol ever again. His memories were hazy but bits and pieces were running through his head vividly, all starring the blonde with whiskey eyes he'd met at the pub.

_("I need something to call you," he panted in her ear, the tip of his cock pushing at her entrance._

"_Rose," she breathed, "my name's Rose."_

"_I'm John, nice to meet you," he teased before pushing into her.)_

Smiling slightly, he reached an arm out to pull her closer. At least something good had come out of their matched destructive aims. His hand met cold sheets instead of a warm body. He rolled over to confirm what his senses were telling him.

The bed was empty. Rose was gone.


	2. Chapter 2

And here we have part two: aftermath and really if you expected me to leave this without a happy ending you don't know me well enough. Anyways, enjoy!

** If you didn't see my edit on chapter one, then you might want to go reread the end of that chapter.** I accidentally left off the last 300 words of the chapter the first time I published. I'm a dork, I'm aware but it was fixed later that day.

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The night that John went out to the pub to drink himself numb he was of the opinion that things couldn't possibly get any worse. He really should have known thinking that would just invite the universe to prove him wrong. Because this…this feeling that his bed was cold and empty and his world void of color was worse than anything else he was dealing with.

It was ridiculous and he reminded himself of that frequently as he forced himself out of bed to get ready for another day. He had only known Rose for three hours or so and it didn't make sense that her absence would affect him so deeply.

It had been a one night stand fueled by copious amounts of alcohol and a desire to leave their problems behind. John had done one night stands before, this wasn't a new thing. Granted, it had been a while and this one definitely stood out but the point still stood.

The fact was it had been a week since Rose had waltzed in and out of his life and he couldn't get her out of his head.

He briefly entertained the idea of trying to track her down but dismissed it quickly. For one, he had no idea what her last name was. Plus he couldn't imagine that she'd want to see him again, not after she'd run out during the night presumably full of regret.

So instead of trying to find her he decided he was going to try to hang onto the light she had briefly shined on his life. Those few hours in her company were the most alive he had felt in years and if that was all he was ever going to get, he was going to make it count.

Over the next month, as winter settled in and Christmas approached, John struggled to fight back against the universe. He finally appealed the ruling that had stripped him of his license to practice medicine. They wouldn't give him a decision for another month or so but the wheels were in motion and he had hope.

He slowly repaired his relationships with old friends he had cut off and made amends to those he had hurt in some way or another. He kept going, kept working the odd jobs that had sustained him since he had added the word ex in front of doctor.

He never went back to the pub and he never stopped looking for a certain pair of whiskey colored eyes in crowds. At the very least he wanted to thank her.

(ask why she left, why she never came back, snog her in front of everyone like the couples they both detested)

Christmas Day finally arrived and for the first time in ages John was actually looking forward to it. He had plans with a friend for later and the last month of his life had been the best bit of living he'd done in his 39 years. He was just sitting down to breakfast when there was a knock on his door.

He was talking before he made it to the door. "Thought you weren't coming over until tonight, Jack. Figured you'd still be hungover after…" He trailed off when he swung the door open and realized it wasn't Jack.

It was Rose.

"Hi," she said, smiling shyly. Her hands had a death grip on each other and if she hadn't looked so damn nervous John was pretty sure he could have worked up some anger at her just showing up out of the blue (no matter how much he wanted to see her).

He just gaped at her instead of answering. She was wrapped in a light blue coat and her hair was shorter than it had been last month. Her cheeks and nose were red from being out in the cold and her eyes were just like he remembered.

He'd wondered sometimes if his memory of her beauty was flawed, enhanced by the alcohol but seeing her stone cold sober, he came to the conclusion that his memory had not been exaggerated at all.

"Can I come in?"

John stepped back and gestured for her to come in. Memories of the last time she was here were assaulting him (like they often did) and he tried to form words. "What are you doing here?"

Rose looked like he had just slapped her with those words. "Happy Christmas to you too," she muttered. "I wanted to talk to you, try to explain because running out wasn't one of my finer moments but if you'd rather me just go, I will." Her voice gained strength as she talked and her eyes met his defiantly.

"Would you like a cuppa?" John asked in response. There was no way in hell he was letting her leave when she was finally in front of him again.

"I'd love one, record lows out there today." Her smile was like sunshine in his small flat and he was reminded of how a few hours of that smile had inspired him to better himself.

He fixed them both tea in silence, broken only by him asking her what she liked in her tea. When they were both seated at the table clutching warm mugs, John finally let loose the words that had been rattling around his head since he'd awoken that morning to find her gone. "Why'd you leave?"

"Short answer? I panicked. I woke up and you looked so beautiful lying there asleep and I just…" Rose's hand was gesticulating wildly while she tried to find the right words, "I wasn't ready. I never told you that the reason I was drinking that night was cause I finally broke up with my no-good boyfriend. An' right on the heels of that I was not in a good place and I was so much happier with you for those few hours and you're wonderful and didn't need me bringing you down when I was all messed up. So I left while you were still asleep because if I'd waited for you to wake up and seen you smile at me again, I don't think I would have ever managed to leave."

Rose let out a breath, not daring to meet his eyes yet. "I thought about leaving a note but I didn't know what to say. So yeah, I took the coward's way out and ran and I completely understand if you hate me for it but I had to sort myself out before anything else and I just couldn't…" she trailed off.

Rose rested her head on her hand, looking up at the ceiling. "God, I planned this whole speech and I'm just mucking everythin' up. I should leave," she made a move to get up but John grabbed her hand.

"When I woke up that morning and realized you were gone it felt like the universe had played a cruel trick on me. I won't lie to you, Rose, it hurt. But I told myself for the last month that if I ever saw you again I'd thank you."

John savored the look of shock on her face; it was an expression he hadn't seen before. That was something he hadn't ever considered in his considerable ponderings on Rose, learning all of her different facial expressions.

"Thank me? For running out on you? Are you sure you don't want me to leave?"

"What you said a minute ago about being happier in those few hours we were together was true for me too. You made me better. I held onto that feeling of being alive and worked on getting my life back in order. You were the catalyst, so thank you." He squeezed her hand, trying to convey his sincerity.

Shaky though it was Rose's smile was full of hope. "Yeah?"

"Yeah."

"So are we agreeing to give us another go? Without the whole running away part of course," Rose asked. John's grin turned wicked as he ran his eyes over the woman sitting at his table. She swatted his arm playfully. "Not what I meant."

"Are you sure?" He teased, moving closer to her, "Could be an excellent way to get things started again."

"Are you still talking?" Rose tilted her head, inviting him in.

"No," he said leaning in and covering her lips with his.

It started off slow, something they hadn't achieved when fueled by alcohol. They indulged in small glides of their lips, sips of flavor instead of draughts, each kiss melting into the next making it seem as if this would never end.

John's tongue flicked out to run along the seam of Rose's lips. Her mouth opened to let him in without hesitation. Their tongues slipped into a rhythm, a sensuous dance they both remembered and had dreamt about for the last month.

Rose pulled back first, breathing hard. John reacted to her breaking the kiss by moving his mouth to her neck. At some point Rose had moved from her chair to John's lap.

"John, I need to know you're sure about this, about us," she said trying to concentrate on the formation of words.

"No running," he responded, locking eyes with Rose. "Want to get to know you, all of you."

She reached out and cupped his cheek, before shooting him a tongue-in-teeth smile. "Should we start with the introductions this time?"

"I thought we already started," he pointed out, trying to resist the urge to chase her tongue back into her mouth since she seemed intent on talking for the moment.

"Just barely, I have plans for you, mister."

_Ooh, _that sounded promising.

Rose interrupted his rather lovely musings with a giggle. "Your face just kinda glazed over for a minute there, it was rather cute."

John growled, moving in to capture her lips again.

She pulled back after a moment and laughed again. "You have a one track mind, you know. Introductions, remember?"

John rolled his eyes. "John Smith, 39, former and soon to be reinstated doctor. That enough of an introduction?"

"Rose Tyler, 23, just started in the HR department at Vitex Industries, and yes that's enough of an introduction for now."

John pretty much swallowed her last word as he dove in for another kiss. He'd spent a month of nights alone in his bed thinking about (among other things) how he would kiss her if he ever got the opportunity again.

This time there was nothing slow or remotely innocent about the kiss. No exploratory flicks or experimental nips for either of them. No, it was entirely carnal, each of them trying to devour the other with tongues and lips and teeth while their bodies strained to get impossibly closer.

Rose rolled her hips, eliciting a strangled sound from the man below her. He retaliated by sucking hard on the skin where her neck met shoulder leaving a dark red mark.

Rose grabbed him by the ears and dragged him back up to her mouth. John slipped the hand that had been spanning her lower back beneath her jumper, stroking the soft skin he encountered.

One of her hands made its way in between their bodies to sneak under his jumper. She had just managed to hook her fingers under his waistband after a thorough exploration of his chest when a knock at the door caused them both to jump.

"Don't answer, pretend you're not here," Rose whispered before sucking his earlobe into her mouth.

He was planning on listening to that very good piece of advice but whoever was at the door was persistent and still knocking.

Before he could make a decision, whoever was at the door began speaking. "John, I know you're in there. Get your ass over here and open the door, I'm freezing."

Unfortunately John knew that voice and that Jack had a key to the flat and would not hesitate in using it. Reluctantly he nudged Rose off his lap.

"He'll come in on his own if I don't let him in," he explained, running his eyes over the delightfully disheveled Rose. She was making no attempt to straighten her hair or clothes that he'd messed up with wandering hands.

_Minx_, he thought as she shot him another tongue touched smile. He leaned down for one more kiss before walking to the door.

He only opened the door enough to stick his head through it. "You're not supposed to be here until later."

"Hello to you too. Got chased out of my date's house this morning when his girlfriend showed up this morning. She didn't take kindly to my offer to let her join in on the fun," Jack pushed the door open further but John still stood in his way.

"Come on, John, have some pity and let me in. It's really cold and you're never doing anything anyways, figured we'd start Christmas drinking early or something." Jack shot him a winning smile.

"I'm busy," was John's answer.

"Bullshit, you probably haven't even left the flat today."

Jack finally succeeded in pushing his way past John and made straight for the kitchen where he was stopped in his tracks by the sight of Rose Tyler, still rumpled, sitting at the table.

Sighing heavily and rubbing his temples John made the introductions, "Jack this is Rose, Rose this is Jack."

"I'd say it's lovely to meet you but you interrupted us," Rose teased, a bit of steel in her voice.

"If I could make it back to my flat without freezing on the way I'd let you get back to it," Jack replied. "You could always let me join in though, make it a very merry Christmas."

John groaned, about to apologize for his friend but Rose beat him to it.

"He's too good to share." Her lascivious grin spoke volumes.

"Oh that's not fair that you know that when I don't," Jack whined.

John just started laughing, this was apparently his life now and as long as Rose was in it, he wouldn't have it any other way.

Jack stayed for a few hours before braving the cold to get back to his own flat, claiming the lovebirds needed time to themselves.

John and Rose didn't complain at all. The rest of their Christmas was spent curled up in bed, reacquainting themselves with each other's bodies and talking in low voices about their lives, about all the things they hadn't mentioned when drinking their problems away.

The first time they went back to the pub where it all started it was with a much happier occasion. It was still to get drunk but this time instead of drowning their sorrows they were celebrating their engagement.


End file.
